DNA repair is a process constantly operating in cells. It is essential to survival because it protects the genome from damage and harmful mutations. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors can cause DNA damages, resulting in as many as 500,000 individual molecular lesions per cell per day. These lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule, and can dramatically alter the cell's way of reading the information encoded in its genes. Consequently, the DNA repair process must be constantly operating, to correct rapidly any damage in the DNA structures.
As cells age, however, the rate of DNA repair decreases until it can no longer keep up with ongoing DNA damage. The cell then suffers one of three possible fates: an irreversible state of dormancy, known as senescence; apoptosis or programmed cell death; carcinogenesis, or the formation of cancer. Most cells in the body first become senescent. Then, after irreparable DNA damage, apoptosis occurs. In this case, apoptosis functions as a “last resort” mechanism to prevent a cell from becoming carcinogenic and endangering the organism. Many genes that were initially shown to influence lifespan have turned out to be involved in DNA damage repair and protection.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a dietary supplement composition that supports DNA repair processes in both nucleus and mitochondria, supports repair of DNA strand breaks and crosslinks, and supports arresting of the cell cycle to extend the time for DNA repair within the cell.